


Brave Face

by BlackJade



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Duck is the dad friend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Mentions of the Pizza Hut Incident, Panic Attacks, Post Episode 14, TAZ Amnesty, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 11:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16554902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackJade/pseuds/BlackJade
Summary: Watch as a cold, broken teen will desperately lean on a super-glued human of proofAubrey has a lot of emotions. Duck tries to help her out.





	Brave Face

Duck noticed Aubrey was distant.

Ever since the Pizza Hut Incident, she’d been quiet. Resigned. She was sitting across from him, the two of them at a table in the lodge. Under normal circumstances, she’d be fidgeting, shifting around, never able to sit still. She would do that magical tic she picked up, where she passes the fire between her fingers idly. Admittedly, it bothered Duck, how carelessly she would twirl her fire about, but it didn’t bother him as much as her current behavior.

Aubrey wasn’t fidgeting. Instead, she sat in perfect stillness, eyes glazed over as she stared out the window of the lodge.

It was unsettling, to say the least.

“Hey, Aubrey, everything alright?” he asked slowly. Aubrey startled, looking at him as though she didn’t realize he was there. And just like that, she was back to her old self, smiling and kicking her legs.

“Oh, Yeah, I’m good. Just a bit spacey,” She looked down, tapping her fingers against the table.

“Alright. You need to talk about it, let me know,” Duck sipped his coffee, trying to seem less worried than he actually was.

“Will do,” she said, a wistful smile on her face.

“So… been practicing magic?” He asked, hoping to get a bit more conversation out of her.

“Ah, no. Not really.” She stopped her tapping on the table, glancing away. Sore subject, Duck realized.

He shifted his meaning, “That’s a shame. Not even some card tricks?”

Aubrey perked up, “I always have time for card tricks. I have a few I could show you, if you’d like?”

“I’d love nothing more,” Duck said, monotonous as always, but a smile on his face.

And they spent the afternoon like that, Aubrey doing card tricks and sleight of hand. There was no fire, no ‘real’ magic, but it was enchanting all the same.

Aubrey took a break from shuffling the cards, “Hey, Duck, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you believe in fate?”

Well, that was a big ask.

“I think it’s more the case of fate believing in me, Aubrey. Why do you ask?”

Aubrey shrugged, “It’s just… I’ve been thinking. About what happened. And I think that it’s in my destiny to hurt people. I mean, my magic manifested as fire and destruction, and my childhood home burnt down, and now you and Ned-” She let out a watery sigh. “I just… I don’t know why I hurt everyone I’m close to.”

If that wasn’t the most heartbreaking thing Duck had ever heard. “Aw, Aubrey, listen. You didn’t hurt me. Everyone got out of that store safely. And Ned? With the jetpack? That wasn’t your fault.”

“But I was the one who cut the sign down-“

“And I was the one with the jetpack. And he was the one who thought ramming into it was a good idea. None of that was your fault, Aubrey,” Duck set his hands over hers, which were still holding onto the forgotten deck of cards. “Listen. I’m alive. Ned is alive. You haven’t killed anyone, kid.”

Aubrey’s breath hitched, tears threatening to fall. Duck looked around. The lodge was only sparsely populated, but Duck supposed Aubrey wouldn’t want everyone see her break down.

“Okay, c’mon, let’s get you upstairs.” He said, getting up and slowly guiding Aubrey up to her room. She let him, her breathing slowly growing more panicked, her eyes getting mistier, further away.

Once they made it to her room, she broke. Tears fell freely, and she gripped onto Duck like he was a buoy and without him she would drown. He held her, mumbling reassurances into her hair.

They made their way to her bed, and Duck sat her gently beside him. “You’re alright, I’m here. I need you to listen for a moment; can you do that for me, Aubrey?” He kept his voice gentle, like he did when calming forest animals.

Aubrey nodded.

“Alright, I’m going to breathe in for four counts, hold it for seven, and then breathe out for eight. I’ll count, I just need you to breath with me. Can you do that?” He rubbed her back gently, hoping to keep her grounded. Another nod.

He counted, and she breathed in time. Soon her hiccupping sobs became gasping breaths, became wavering sighs.

“You’re okay, kid. I’m here.” Duck bundled her up in a hug, and she gripped onto him again.

Sniffling, she spoke, “Sorry you had to deal with that,”

Duck pulled away, looking her in the eyes, “Aubrey, never apologize for how you’re feeling. I didn’t ‘deal with’ you; I helped you through something shitty, like any friend would.” He wiped away one of the tear trails down her face, smudging the running mascara.

They sat in comfortable silence, the bustle of the lodge heard below them, Aubrey half-sitting in Duck’s lap, lent against him.

Duck shifted, “Look, I ain’t great with feelings and talking about them and whatnot, but I’ve been told I’m a good listener, so if you’ve got something you’ve got to get of your chest…”

Duck felt Aubrey shake her head against him.

“Want me to get Dani?”

She shook her head again.

“I’m gonna need you to use your words here, Aubrey,” He gave her a little smile, one he hoped was reassuring. After a longer pause, Duck sent her a concerned look. “Take all the time you need, but I’d love to hear your voice.”

Aubrey pursed her lips, seeming to mull over her words. Finally, she spoke, “It’s hard to get words out sometimes. Like, they’re there, I have them in my mind, but I go to say them, and I just can’t get them out. And it gets really bad when I have… an episode. Like that.”

Duck blinked, “You mean a panic attack?”

Aubrey looked conflicted, “I mean, I guess? It’s not that bad, though. It’s not, like, a real panic attack, like what happened with…” The Pizza Hut incident went unnamed, but Duck knew what she meant.

“Aub, that wasn’t a panic attack, that was you going into shock. What happened just now? Panic attack.”

Aubrey was quiet, thinking this over. “Huh.”

“Yeah. Huh.”

“Well, that’s shitty.” Aubrey said, pulling at the cuff of Duck’s jacket absently.

“Do you… have them often?” Duck tried not to pry, but the idea of Aubrey dealing with this on her own made his heart ache.

Aubrey shrugged, “Not really. They get worse when I get stuck in my head for too long. Dani usually helps, but she doesn’t know what to do sometimes, she just sits with me until it passes. Same with Dr. Bonkers, but he’s usually with Dani, these days, so,” Aubrey paused, “Wait, how did you know what to do?”

Too sharp for her own good, this one.

Duck sighed. “I’ve dealt with panic attacks myself. It’s different, being the one in a tizzy, but you pick up a few things that work to calm yourself down. Like the breathing exercises. Grounding touches. They don’t work for everyone, but I thought they might work for you.”

Aubrey hummed. “Thank you.” She nearly whispered.

Duck wanted to ask for what, but he figured he’d let it be, “Not a problem, Aubrey.”

Duck thought that was the end of it, but apparently Aubrey’s curiosity got the better of her. “Are you usually alone when you… panic?”

It was Duck’s turn to shrug, “Ehh, I don’t get them a lot anymore. Usually I can, I dunno, talk myself out of them? But, yeah, usually it’s just me. My sister used to help a lot, when we were younger and stuff, so if it’s real bad I’ll give her a call, but with her across the world and whatnot, that gets expensive, and-” Duck cut off his own rambling with another shrug.

Aubrey traced over the back of his hand with her fingertip, “You can call me next time,” She said in a hushed voice.

Duck chuckled lightly, “Mighty kind of you to offer, but I don’t think you need my issues weighing you down.”

Aubrey looked up at him, “But that’s what friends are for, right? Helping each other through shitty situations?” There was an intensity in her eyes, one that was missing earlier.

“Okay, Aubrey. Next time, if it gets bad, I’ll give you a call,” He didn’t think he would, but he was willing to placate her, at the very least.

Aubrey smiled, honest-to-god smiled, and Duck felt better. He ruffled her hair, shifting so she was separated from him, and got up from the bed, “You should probably get to bed, or at least take a nap. I’d assume you’re exhausted, and it’s getting pretty late. I can send Barclay up with some food, if you want?”

Aubrey shook her head, also standing up, “No, I’ll head down to eat, it won’t do me any good to be cooped up here. Maybe I’ll tell Dani what you told me, about breathing or whatever,” she shrugged, but it was one of nonchalance, “after I take off what remains of my makeup, anyway.”

“Okay, kid. Be kind to yourself. Call me if you need me,” Duck gave her a quick hug before heading out of the room, making his way down the stairs. He spotted Dani in the main room, sitting by the fireplace, and after brief hesitation, he approached her.

“Hey, Duck. What’s up?” She asked, kind eyes blinking up at him.

“Ah, I just was wondering, could you go check on Aubrey later? She had, ah, a bit of a day today, and I’m worried for her.” He scratched at his chin, aiming to seem casually concerned.

Dani narrowed her eyes, but nodded slowly, “Sure thing, Duck.”

“Okay, well, gotta run. Keep Aubrey out of trouble for me,” He gave a quick smile and a half-hearted salute and made his way out into the cold Kepler night.

Aubrey would be alright. Duck would make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> (Lyrics in Summary are from Dodie Clark's _Sick of Losing Soulmates _)__
> 
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> _Y'all, I need more Amnesty fics. This has been sitting unfinished for a long while, so I figured I'd polish it up and post it! Let me know if there's any issues with grammar/spelling and whatnot. Thanks for reading!_  
> 


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